


a waterfall of green and black

by occultisaperta



Series: flowers for my love [1]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Almost death, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Confessions, Fluff and Angst, Hanahaki Disease, Happy Ending, M/M, Pining, Romance, Soulmates, corpse husband has hanahaki disease, wanting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-13 10:53:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,664
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28902216
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/occultisaperta/pseuds/occultisaperta
Summary: Corpse is too stubborn to tell Sykkuno how he feels, even though it very well could kill him.
Relationships: Corpse Husband/Sykkuno (Video Blogging RPF)
Series: flowers for my love [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2119653
Comments: 44
Kudos: 452





	a waterfall of green and black

**Author's Note:**

> Hanahaki Disease (花吐き病 (Japanese); 하나하키병 (Korean); 花吐病 (Chinese)) is a fictional disease in which the victim coughs up flower petals when they suffer from one-sided love. It ends when the beloved returns their feelings (romantic love only; strong friendship is not enough), or when the victim dies. It can be cured through surgical removal, but when the infection is removed, the victim's romantic feelings for their love also disappear.
> 
> \---
> 
> if this isn't perfect for these two, i don't know what is. i'll be doing one from sykkuno's pov and probably taking this further as well.

The petals were green. 

A small part of me wanted to pretend that I swallowed a leaf, but I knew better. It wasn't a leaf, it was a flower petal. And it wasn't just any petal, it was a _green_ hydrangea petal. A low groan escaped my chest and I coughed, this time violently enough that an entire shower of the _obviously-not-a-leaf_ flew from my lips -- I caught one of them idly on my fingertip and looked at it.

It was the same damn color as Sykkuno's Among Us character. 

For a while, I just stared. It was perfectly green and almost star-shaped, soft and sweet-smelling. It was everything that I associated with Sykkuno, though I hadn't really allowed myself to admit it yet. 

The problem with Hanahaki Disease was that it didn't care if I admitted it or not. Either you confessed and had your emotions returned, or you cut the plant out of your lungs. Or if you died. The problem with the second option was cutting out the plant also took away your feelings... forever. 

I knew that I would die before I let that happen -- maybe quite literally. Probably literally, because every time I came close to telling Sykkuno how I felt, something seized up in my chest and the words were caught on my tongue. My fear of rejection was stronger than my fear of death, I guess. I could take dying.

I couldn't take knowing that the sensation in my chest was a one-sided thing. And it had to be; I didn't deserve someone like Sykkuno.

Besides, it was obvious that _Sykkuno wasn't coughing up flowers._

Not that I watched his streams.

Not that I kept my eyes fixated on his face, or listened to his soothing, soft voice on those nights when I couldn't sleep, which was most nights.

And not that I didn't double over and cough out a cascade of petals that were starting to tinge crimson when I stared at him for a little too long.

Honestly, I wasn't upset about it. I'd always assumed that I was going to die at an early age, and if there was a way that I had to go... doing it because of how I felt about Sykkuno instead of some fucked up issue with my health problems wasn't the worst thing that could happen. It could be all right, as long as Sykkuno didn't have to know that it was because of him -- but no one even knew where I lived, so no one would even see the color of the petals.

No one would know what happened to me.

I'd just disappear. I was okay with that, too. Mostly.

Except for the small part in my chest that was screaming at me to just tell him. To just try, because there were times... there were times when it almost seems like he was reciprocating. There were times when his voice was so soft and so sweet, and the only thing that I could think of was that it wouldn't be all that bad to talk to him.

But I couldn't do that. Instead, I hid -- I allowed myself to get caught up in making music, even though the coughing was starting to get so bad that it was fucking with my vocals. There was a small part of me that silently hoped that the coughing would _stop_ , but a larger part of me that didn't want it to... because I hadn't felt anything close to what I did for Sykkuno in such a long, long time.

The last time, I'd written a song about it... and then I'd had surgery to have the damn roses cut out of my chest. It had hurt. Losing those feelings had hurt worse -- and they hadn' been anywhere close to what I felt for the other streamer. Puppylove. 

This was something else altogether. 

I wasn't going to let that happen again. I'd die with them stuck in my chest before I let someone take them out. 

If it had been anyone other than Sykkuno...

But honestly, it was probably never going to be _anyone_ other than Sykkuno. I'd known it from the moment that I'd met him, though the flower petals had only shown up recently. Maybe they'd been percolating in my lungs for a while, blooms ready to open and start tearing me apart.

Maybe it was because I'd finally started to admit it to myself. Because I couldn't stop watching his streams. Because I was starting to slip up and _almost_ tell him. Multiple times. 

The coughing had started when we were left alone in the Among Us lobby and I'd stuttered like a middle schooler asking a boy to a dance. The petals were painted crimson by the time I nearly outed myself in the Raft stream.

I knew that they were worse _now_ because he was further away. Because I'd let him move to Vegas without telling him, and I was starting to think that I wasn't going to be able to confess unless we were face to face -- if he was looking at me, really looking at me, maybe I wouldn't have a choice.

But it was too late.

And I couldn't separate the pain of the Hydrangeas spreading through my lungs with the pain in my chest from the fact that he was in another state.

_It still wasn't really that far._

_But..._

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of my phone ringing.

My eyes darted to the screen, hope picking up in my chest for a moment that maybe it was--

But it wasn't.

Rae's voice was hysterical when she spoke. "Look, I don't _care_ about being subtle anymore, Corpse. It's stupid. There's flower petals to prove it, and if you don't do something, _I_ will, I swear to God, I'll--"

The scream was enough to nearly make me drop my phone. Flower petals... how did she know..? I hadn't told her. I hadn't told _anyone._ I hadn't shown her -- she shouldn't have been able to _tell._

"Rachel, what are you--

"Look, Corpse. If you don't go talk to him, I'm going to find you and make you." Toast -- that was Toast, cool and threatening and somehow he knew, too? 

"Wh... wait... what are you guys talking about, I--" I couldn't finish my sentence because another wave of coughs came over me and I had to put my phone down to keep them from hearing the pained noise when blood painted my lips. When I flipped it onto speaker, of all people, I could hear _Ash_ yelling at me.

Really yelling.

"I haven't even known you for that long and I can see it. Sykkuno is going to _die_ and you aren't even helping. If you don't want me to come there and _yoink_ it out of him, you better go talk to him, Corpse, or so help me, I'll--"

" _Stop!"_ Ash's words were thick on my ears -- _he's going to die._

Not _you_ are going to die.

 _He_ is going to die.

"Wait a minute." My lungs, gracefully, gave me a moment to breathe. Because suddenly this mattered, it _really_ mattered. "What _exactly_ are we talking about here?"

\---

I was an idiot. All of the times that he'd covered his mouth when he was talking to me. The times he'd rushed off to go to the bathroom even though it was inconvenient. The times that he'd left stream early. 

There were so many times, and I hadn't seen it even though I'd been watching him.

I was driving forty miles over the speed limit, but the stretch of road was empty... and I was ready to evade cops if I had to. I'd tried to facetime Sykkuno as soon as I'd gotten off of the phone with my little intervention club.

_How could you not notice? He moved out of state so he wouldn't drag you down with him!_

_I really thought you were smarter than that._

_Wait a minute, Corpse. Does that mean that you're coughing--_

I hung up the phone. I had Sykkuno's new address, if I had to... 

He didn't answer my phone call.

My chest was tight -- he'd never _not_ answered me before.

And he wasn't on stream.

I was ready to run over anyone who got in my way. The roads were empty though -- it was 3am, and the only thing that I could think of was that I needed to get to him _faster_. 

The sun was coming up by the time I pulled with screeching tires in front of his house. There were a thousand reasons for why I'd never thought this would happen -- my mask only half covered my face. The hood that I had pulled up handled the rest of it, so it was only my eyes peeking out. But still... it wasn't supposed to be like this.

It wasn't supposed to ever _happen_.

But I was running to his door and banging hard enough that I felt my hand ache with the motion.

There wasn't an answer. 

"Sykkuno!" My voice was a scream through the door, but I was already moving. The handle had been locked. But there were windows. I peeked through -- caught a small glimpse of an over-sized sweater and a soft hand sticking out of it.

Laying on the ground.

In a puddle of blood and black orchid petals. 

I didn't think. I wrapped my hand in the sleeve of my hoodie and punched through the glass of the window. My body was screaming at me in pain as I wrenched it open and crawled through, my own lips stained red and green behind my mask, but it didn't matter.

Because Sykkuno was on the ground.

And he wasn't moving.

And there was so much blood...

And so many black petals.

I was an idiot. 

"Sy!" My boots didn't have enough traction to keep me from slipping in the blood and the soft petals, but it didn't matter because I fell down beside him. I ripped my mask from my face to try to catch my breath -- my chest was tight; I wasn't getting any oxygen, but it wasn't from the flowers for once. It was from him; from the way that he wasn't moving.

My hands were instantly in his hair, raising his head up, bringing him to cradle his smaller body against me. The sob that tore from my chest was cut short by another cough and a burst of green so violently that for a moment it clouded my vision.

And for a moment, I couldn't breathe around it -- I thought that I was going to die here, too... and it didn't matter, because if Sykkuno wasn't okay then I didn't want...

"Bought your cologne, but it smells better on you..." his voice was soft when he spoke, pain-filled. But it was _there_ , and something inside of me wrenched. I pushed back to look at him. There was a waterfall of green blossoms in his hair like a goddamn flower crown, and one black petal sticking wetly to his cheek with blood.

"Sykkuno, what the fuck, why didn't you--"

"Probably shouldn't have paid as much as I did for it. Entire water bill..." He kept on talking, his dark eyes shut tight, his face pale. I brought one hand up and cupped his high cheekbone, ran my thumb along the line of it.

"Sy--"

"Worth it though." He cut me off again. I couldn't tell if he was delirious or trying to change the subject even now, when it was obvious that he was just as bad off as me -- maybe worse.

"Sykkuno!" I shouted his name and coughed again. The cough made him open his eyes to a burst of green spilling into his face. His pupils dilated at the sight of it, of the blood painting my lips. 

"Oh, C-Corpse, Jesus! Who is it? What are you doing here, you need to go tell them before you--"

"Sykkuno!" I said his name again, but he wasn't stopping.

"I'm sure whoever they are they'll feel the same once you let them know, and--"

"Sykkuno--"

"If they don't then we can get you to the doctor and--"

He wasn't going to shut up. I was going to have to _shut_ him up.

I shifted forward and pressed my mouth against his; first kisses weren't supposed to taste like the perfume of flowers and the copper of blood... but as far as firsts went, it was still the best that I'd ever had.

He stiffened in my arms immediately, and then melted like sugar in warm water... limp and loose against me until I thought for a moment that he'd fainted again. But his arms were circled tight around me and he was gripping my hoodie like it was the last line that he had to the world of the living.

And maybe it was. 

He pulled back from me after a moment, and his dark eyes were almost glassy with tears. His mouth was a soft stain of pink... and there was a green petal clinging to the corner of his lips. I plucked it off and looked at it. 

It's the same damn color as Sykkuno's Among Us character -- the same color as the sweater that he wore. 

And his petals are the same color as my hoodie -- the same color as my character in the game that had started everything.

I really was pretty stupid that neither of us had said anything until it was almost too late.

"Uh... uhm... Corpse? I mean -- maybe you just did that because y-you can see that I'm... uh... that I'm... and I wouldn't blame you if... but... uh..." The anxiety-ridden expression on his face is nearly painful, but it's honestly only a little shocking that he was still trying to talk himself out of what was happening.

Something inside of me wanted to, too... but I couldn't. Because there was too much blood around Sykkuno, and one more coughing fit could be the difference between him warm and safe in my arms and him on the floor forever.

"I love you." The words weren't thick on my tongue like I thought they would be -- they weren't trapped at the back of my throat. They didn't sound wrong.

Nothing had ever sounded so _right_ , actually.

His eyes widened again, that doe-like quality... and then he blinked, and the tears that he'd been so carefully holding slipped down his cheeks and painted clean tracks in the blood that stained his skin.

"Y-you... you do?" 

"So fuckin' much." Now that I'd said it, I couldn't think of how it had felt when I hadn't. The world was just his dark eyes, so wide and infinite, and the baited air of me waiting for him to say it back.

I needed him to say it back -- I wasn't going to believe it until he did, and the flowers trying to break through my lungs wouldn't stop until I believed it; only a small part of me still doubted that he felt it in return, but it was enough. Rae had been shouting, and he knew me by smell even though we'd never met in person. The way he'd held me when we kissed and... it had to be -- but who else were the black petals for if not for--

"C-Corpse, I l-l-love... love you. Love you, too. So much... since we met." He collapsed against me and coughed; my lungs seemed in sync with his because I coughed, too, and it was like a waterfall of black and green cascading down around us. Something in my chest eased up, though. Something felt lighter. 

Or maybe it was just all of the breath leaving my lungs when he raised his head up and brought his mouth to mine again in a sweet, soft kiss that said everything had changed, and that everything was going to be okay.


End file.
